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Talk:Talk about Korean Republic/@comment-4539165-20131205141104
I'm sorry if you haven't understood me so far, clearly I must not be making a good enough effort to inform you on this matter. Lets correct that now, shall we? Wikipedia describes the Empire of Korea in the following way: :: The Korean Empire (Hangul: 대한제국; Hanja: 大韓帝國; Daehan Jeguk; literally "Greater Korean Empire") is the name of the state of Korea that existed from the Proclamation of the Korean Empire in October 1897 to the Annexation of Korea by Japan on August 20, 1910. It succeeded the Joseon Dynasty. :: In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries. The new empire replaced the old Joseon Kingdom. Japan became wary of the speed at which the Korean Empire was modernizing and decided to speed up its plans for annexation. These plans were accelerated after the assassination of Prince Itō Hirobumi. On August 22, 1910, Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan. The Empire of Korea was a real nation that existed for almost 13 years between 1897 and 1910 when it was annexed by the Empire of Japan. This annexation was fairly gradual as plans for annexation had been established and set in motion decades earlier, Korea having become a protectorate only several years before being annexed and having slowly drifted under Japanese influence before that as China declined and Japan continued to see victories over regional powers. In the decade of the 1910's there are many notable protests and rallies for Korean Independence, note the following excerpt from Wikipedia on the page "Korea under Japanese rule": :: Upon Emperor Gojong's death, anti-Japanese rallies took place nationwide, most notably the March 1st Movement of 1919. A declaration of independence was read in Seoul. It is estimated that 2 million people took part in these rallies. The Japanese violently suppressed the protests: According to Korean records, 46,948 were arrested, 7,509 killed and 15,961 wounded; according to Japanese figures, 8,437 were arrested, 553 killed and 1,409 wounded. About 7,000 people were killed by Japanese police and soldiers during the 12 months of demonstrations. And then a bit further down: :: Objection to Japanese rule over Korea continued, and the March 1st Movement was a catalyst for the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea by Korean émigrés in Shanghai on 13 April 1919. The modern South Korean government considers this Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea the de jure representation of the Korean people throughout the period of Japanese rule. It also goes on to discuss guerrilla warfare and continued rallies throughout Japanese rule to resist their occupation. That said, I mention this aspect of their rule to display that the Korean people still clung to their aspirations for independence. As well, I can prove that they clung to aspirations for democratization, even before official annexation: :: After the Royal Refuge, some Korean activists established the Independence Club (독립협회, 獨立協會) in 1896. They claimed that Korea should negotiate with Western powers, particularly Russia, to counterbalance the growing influence of Japan and Russia. This club had destroyed Yeongeunmun Gate as a Chinese tributary state and contributed to the construction of Independence Gate, and they held regular meetings at the Jongno streets, '''demanding democratic reforms' as Korea became a constitutional monarchy, and an end to Japanese and Russian influence in Korean affairs.'' Wikipedia also notes on the Korean Empire page that the government suppression of democratization can be credited as among many of the reasons their attempts at modernization were not widely very successful, difficult to suppress something if it doesn't exist. So now that I have established that the Korean Empire was a real nation just prior to Japanese annexation, that the Korean people continued to aspire towards independence during that period of annexation, and that around this period there was also a desire for democratization, I will now explain in as much detail as I can or feel necessary as to just why there can NOT be a north-south division, or a division of any kind, within the Korean peninsula. You may have already noted that the following nations exist: the Commonwealth Republic of Ohio, the Republic of New Michigan, the Republic of Texas, the Republic of California, the Kingdom of Hawai'i (United Kingdom of Hawai'i-Qatar shortly) who also controls Puerto Rico, the Midwestern Republic, and, most critically, the Confederate States of America. All of these nations for the most part only exist because the United States of America no longer does. The Union collapsed around World War I following years of decline and internal issue, a much longer and more severe Civil War, and several defeats during conflicts with Mexico and the Spanish; they were also attacked during WWI by the Mexicans and are recognized as having been defeated by them. On the other side of the world, you may also have noticed the existence of nations such as the the Far East Republic of Green Ukraine and the Commonwealth Kingdom of Poland, the latter controlling most of eastern Europe and having done so for quite some time now. Neither of these existing are probable if the Russians had played a serious role in World War II or if the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had formed. In this timeline the Communist government of Russia became oppressive (quicker than in real life, at least) which ultimately led to its overthrow which threw Russia into a period of anarchy, all of this before WWII or at the latest around just when the conflict began if I'm not mistaken. Wikipedia has this to say of Korean independence: :: Following the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the impending overrun of the Korean peninsula by Russian forces, Japan surrendered to the Allied forces on 15 August 1945, ending 35 years of Japanese occupation. :: American forces under General John R. Hodge arrived at the southern part of Korean peninsula on 8 September 1945, while the Soviet Army and some Korean Communists had stationed themselves in the northern part of the Korean peninsula. U.S. Colonel Dean Rusk proposed to Chischakov, the Soviet military administrator of northern Korea, that Korea should be split at the 38th parallel. This proposal was made at an emergency meeting to determine postwar spheres of influence, which led to the Division of Korea. You will note the key role of the USSR and the US in freeing, and dividing, the Korean peninsula. That said, with the US gone and the USSR having never formed, neither could of freed Korea nor divided it. There for, there could not of been a North Korea or a South Korea for you to have united, Korea would of already been united. You may now be wondering whether Korea is even free if the US and USSR never defeated Imperial Japan, which is a quite valid question and one which I have an answer for. If you remember, I noted Mexico playing a large role in bringing down the United States of America, around WWI a Communist government took power over Mexico, with this and their being much better off in this timeline around that period than in real life they ultimately became some what of a power. They ultimately allied themselves with the Axis as WWII kicked off and as they themselves began to retake the US West and Central America, as well as exert influence over many Caribbean islands. However, as they expanded and turned their attention towards the Pacific Ocean, they ultimately found themselves facing the Japanese Empire who at one point betrayed the Mexicans causing them to leave the Axis and align with the Allies (who also consisted of some American nations who had managed to recover from the anarchy and civil wars to follow the collapse of the Union). The Socialist Republic of Mexico played a key role in defeating the Axis, especially Japan, and thus would of freed Korea. It is possible Korea would of fallen under their Communist influence, though that is not necessarily a given, it's also possible they felt they were too spread out across the world at the time to possibly cement claims to all of their occupied lands and fell back or the Koreans saw their window of opportunity for independence and refused to let anyone, even those who just freed them from Japanese rule, get in their way of taking it. This is a gray area we've not discussed but none the less what we can conclude is that Korea is independent today and has never been divided in the manner we've seen it be in real life.